Blunderbuss?

[Model12Win]

Anyone make a repro blunderbuss? Can't find one. Thanks.

[BlackPowderBen]

https://www.muzzle-loaders.com/tradi...ercussion.html

[H.W. French]

Sitting Fox has a neat kit as well.
http://sittingfoxmuzzleloaders.com/k-4/

[Wyosmith]

I do.

[Model12Win]

Not looking for a kit and I can't afford Wyosmith's work.

[T. O'Heir]

You'll find 'em on Dixie Gun Works' site. $450 for a replica. $3,395.00 for a real antique. There's a Dixie imported one on Armslist at $450 too.

[Wyosmith]

Not to be a 'shameless self promoter" but I have to ask, what can you afford?
I build to the customers budget. Not everything I make is for kings and princes.


And I take payments as a rule. I have a backlog, so there is no reason or need to pay for everything up front.

[4V50 Gary]

How does that spring work for the bayonet?

[Model12Win]

I went to Dixie Gun Works and was not able to find a blunderbuss except the $3400 real one.

You'd think Pedersoli et al would make one.

EDIT: I managed to find this one- is it any good?

http://www.militaryheritage.com/musket9.htm

To quote what they say about the quality:

The blunderbuss is very manoeuvrable in the melée of battle with its 15-inch barrel and 30 1/2 inch length overall (.69 calibre). As the image show, this is an excellent quality reproduction. As with all of our flintlocks, this replica is made faithful to those of the period with tempered seamless modern steel (type:BS970 no.080M40) with a threaded breech plug. The barrel is an octagon-to-round configuration. The lock is made with strong durable springs and has a case-hardened frizzen (hammer) that throws good sparks. We use a cyanide case-hardening factory process that makes sparking both more reliable and longer lasting. Presently no other musket provider uses this technique.

Does that sound legit? It looks very nice and just like what I'm going for.

[Wyosmith]

Gary, the bayonet mount houses a V spring that is pressing up on the base of the bayonet about 1/2" in front of the hinge. When the "duck-tail" is pulled to the rear it release the tip of the bayonet. The bayonet then flips forward like a switch-blade.

[Hawg]

I managed to find this one- is it any good?

http://www.militaryheritage.com/musket9.htm

Military Heritage sells Indian made guns with no vent hole and seamless means pipe.

[Wyosmith]

Do you want the blunderbuss for reenacting as part of a costume?
Or do you intend to fire it, and if so, how often?
If you intend to fire it, will you use shot or just blanks?

To cut to the core here....if you want a real weapon I would advise against the Indian made guns. I have had a number of them come through my shop from customers asking me to improve them in various ways and in many cases there is not much I can do to help. They are a LONG way from a good quality well made gun. For costume or occasional firing of blanks they are ok I guess.
I have a friend who has 3 different Indian guns, a Brown Bess, a trade gun and a blunderbuss. None of them are good enough to shoot in a trail walk and none of them are reliable enough to fire all the time. LOTS of misfires, but for parades and costume reenactments that is no a big deal. He did fire the Bess a few times with a ball and the stock split (the reason he brought it to me)
He asked me if I could "tighten up" the barrel in his trade gun too. It was over-inlet with big gaps, so I used shims and Acra-glass to make the barrel stay in place. That took care of the loose barrel, and I case hardened the frizzen which helped a lot in making the thing fire, but it is still so-so. It fires about 8 time in 10.

"is it any good" was the question.

I would answer that question with a question.
Good for what?

If you want something as a prop, or part of a costume it's fine.
If you want something to fire blanks it will be ok most of the time.
If you want a real weapon? No!

[Model12Win]

Oh man.

I want one as a shooter, for fun range use. I will avoid the Indian made guns, thank you. That does not sound safe to fire.

[Stormson]

How about these guys?

http://www.middlesexvillagetrading.com/MSBB.shtml

The prices arnt SO bad, and it SEEMS to be manned by actual shooters instead of the "non-firing state" types over at militaryheritage.

IIRC they had a side by side flintlock pistol designed to their specs awhile back that seemed to enjoy some level of public acceptance... Maybe their Blunderbuss' (Err.. Blunderbi? LOL) are at least as good?

Shrugs.. I never personally dealt with em, so I cant personally say.

[Wyosmith]

I would not say for sure, but I believe Middlesex is also an Indian importer.
You might just call them and ask.

Of course, no mater where they are made they are not going to tell you if the quality is poor.

So finding out they are made in India is not encouraging, but if they are made somewhere else it still doesn't mean they are good,(or poor) but just that they are made somewhere else.

[Wyosmith]

M12, PM me and tell me what you can afford.

If you are not in a huge hurry, and if you are willing to do your own sanding and finish work on the wood, you may find that a hand made gun is a lot less expensive than you think.
From what you are looking at I get an impression you are looking for a good gun, but not a fancy gun. You may have options open to you that you are not aware of.
Let's talk.

[Hawg]

I would not say for sure, but I believe Middlesex is also an Indian importer

Made in India.

[Stormson]

Yeah I think they some or all of their stuff is from India as well... HOWEVER, I also get the impression that they might be coming from some of the "better" Indian firms and that these guys are shooters who actually USE (and sometimes even design) what they sell.

I know the mean mention of the word "India" sends shivers down the spine for many, but remember that Palmeto was Italian.. Luckily enough however, that doesnt make ALL Italian guns Palmetos.

As I understand it, the guns from India that come WITHOUT touch holes are coming from the firms that are skirting regulations and giving India a bad name. In India if it doesnt have the touch hole then its considered purely decorative... Therefore no standards apply. Meanwhile companies that ARE making actual weapons and ARE proof testing are being lumped into the same category.

At least thats my understanding of the situation. I do think that this small company putting a WARRANTY on what it sells is a pretty goon indication that we may not be dealing with the typical shoddy and dangerous wall hangers we usually see from the sub-continent. IF I ever get the dough for it, that half priced Howda is on my list.. Pretty far DOWN the list (LOL), but still ON it at least...

[Hawg]

Do a Google search. There's lots of stuff out there as well as where they were reported to the BBB.

[Stormson]

Ahh...ok... Did NOT know that!

Hmm... You may have just saved me quite a bit (for me anyway) of money. I did see where he stated that they almost always need the frizzen hardened, but that alone seems a pretty trivial reason for a report to BBB. I absolutely will dig much deeper before spending anything there..

I was thinking more along the lines of the Jukar vs. Dikar thing from Spain... At least thats what it seemed like. A situation of one company putting out cheap, barely shootable crap (jukar) as opposed to the other (dikar) putting out cheap sometimes DANGEROUS to shoot crap. In the end ALL the Spanish stuff got a bad rep, but ive seen lots of Jukar that I would shoot with lighter loads.

[Wyosmith]

Guys, let me give you some golden advice.
DO NOT buy a gun with a so-so or questionable barrel.

Cheap lock? If it is very unreliable, or if parts break you go home aggravated. But you go home!

Bad wood and poor inletting? You may see splits develop. You may even get splinters in your hand. You will go home aggravated, but again you will go home.

Very poor quality castings? You may have cracks and voids in the butt plate and trigger guard, and the rod pipes may bend and work loose. Once again you will go home aggravated, but again you will still go home.

Bad barrel and/or breach plug?
You may not go home. You may go to the hospital.
And you may be going to therapy for a long time afterwords.

Now in fairness, I can't say I have ever heard of any of the Indian guns posted in this thread bursting, but I have heard about a few others in years past. So I am keenly aware of the fact that such things can and have happened in the past.

If you must get a low priced gun, do yourself a favor and buy a good barrel.

Even if you were to cobble something together that is embarrassingly poor in workmanship, it is still safe and no one will get hurt or killed by firing it. And the cost of a good barrel is not all that much higher than the cost of a cheap welded-pipe barrel that some of the imports have.

Guys, this is something you simply should not gamble with.

[brazosdave]

I have a bunch of old Jukars and Dikars and never had a problem with them, they are actually mentioned in "Percussion Revolvers" by Cumpston with some of the shooting data for the ones they tested.